NAME: SULE MARLEE WANJIRU

REG. NO: G34/144070/2022

BOOK: GRIT
AUTHOR: ANGELA DUCKWORTH
PUBLISHER: SIMON AND SCHUSTER

At West Point one is taught and challenged in a variety of ways, mentally, physically and

emotionally, and the advantage of being at West point is that it toughens you. At west point rising to

the occasion had nothing to do with talent but what mattered was the extent at which you were

willing to go in order to succeed. It is vitally important and by no means simple to maintain your

attention on failure. They will never try to give up, despite the fact that some of the things they had

to do were infuriating or even exasperating. In order to succeed not only determination is required

but also direction is required. A demonstration is given of spellbound where three boys and five girls

come together to compete in the National Spelling Bee. Research was carried out by the author and

came to the conclusion that on average, they practiced more than an hour a day on weekdays and

more than two hours a day on weekends. But the difference comes in where some spellers were

hardly studying at all, and some were studying as much as nine hours on a given Saturday. The

author came to the conclusion that would guide her future work: ‘’Our potential is one thing. What

we do with it is quite another.’’ This shows that they had grit.

A story was given of a boy called David, a hardworking student who scored good grades leading to

him being taken to an accelerated track. David gives a story on how he started getting low grades

when he was in his new class. However, David dealt with the issue by trying to figure out what he did

wrong and he knew he had to focus on what to do next in order to improve his grades. He asked his

teachers for help and find out what he needed to do differently. In the present day, David is an

engineer at the Aerospace Corporation. Top students were distinguished more by their work ethic

than by their intellect. They invested more hours in their studies every day. Darwin’s is of the

opinion that zeal and hard work are ultimately more important than intellectual ability. William

James observed that compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. Our fires are
damped, our drafts are checked. We are using only a small part of our possible mental and physical

resources. He also says that human beings enervate below their maximum and behave below their

optimum.

James uses an illustration of a tree and says to that a tree does not grow into the sky to mean that

in everything we do there are limits. He further goes on to say that the plain fact remains that men

the world dominates amounts of resource, which only very remarkable individuals push to their

limits of use.” In some of the stories illustrated in the book some show of people having talents but

the unique thing about them is that they strived in order to better themselves, either by practicing

and putting extra hours so as to perfect it. McKinsey authors define talent as a sum of person’s

abilities - intrinsic gifts, skills, knowledge, experience, intelligence, judgment, attitude, character, and

drive. It also includes one’s ability to learn and grow. In conclusion it states that focusing on talent

only distracts us from something that is also important and that is effort. By using an example of a

potter, McKenzie the author came up with an equation.

Once you put a little effort on perfecting your talent it becomes a skill and when you add effort on

your skill it becomes an achievement. James Irving rewrites draft after draft of his novels. Reading

and writing did not come easily to James and so he said in order to do something perfectly you have

to outstretch yourself. He will examine something over and over again no matter how grim it may

be. Will Smith, a famous actor, says that he has never viewed himself as talented. He says that one

thing about him that makes him different is that he is not afraid to die on the treadmill, either they

are going off first or he is going to die. Therefore, in the marathon of life, effort counts

tremendously. Woody Allen says that eighty percent of success in life is showing up. Grit is about

holding the same top-level goal for a very long time. In very gritty people, most mid-level goals are in

some way or another, related to that ultimate goal. Warren Buffet gives three ways to prioritize your

goals, the first way is to write down a list of twenty-five career goals, do some soul searching and circle
the five highest goals you prioritize, look into the twenty goals you did not circle and avoid them at all
costs.

In life not everything works out therefore it’s understandable to do away with the lower-level goals

and change it for something more achievable. On any long journey diversions are expected. We have

an example of the Flynn effect that refers to startling gains in IQ scores over the past century. Grit
grows as we figure out life philosophy, learn to dust ourselves off after rejection or disappointment.

We develop the capability for long term passion and determination as we grow older. A novelist,

John Irving said that to do something really well you have to overstretch yourself and this is by doing

something over and over again something that never came naturally becomes almost second to

nature. He also says that the capacity to do work meticulously doesn’t come overnight. There are

four psychological assets of gritty people;

Interest- Jeff Bezos says that one huge mistakes people make is that they try to force an

interest on themselves. One has to experiment to know. If you do something you like for a

few years and still you don’t find it to be your passion then you have to find ways to deepen

your interest.

Practice - Deliberate practice predicted advancing to further rounds in final the conclusion that

gritty people do more deliberate practice and experience more flow.

Basic requirements for deliberate practice are, a clearly defined stretch goal, full concentration and
effort, immediate and informative feedback, repetition with reflection and refinement.

When you have a habit of practicing at the same time and in the same place every day, you

hardly have to think about getting started. You just do.

Purpose- A calling is not some full formed thing that you find. It’s much more dynamic.an

illustration is given on three brick layers, one says that he is laying bricks, the second says he is

building a church and the third says he is building the House of God. The first bricklayer has a

job. The second has a career. The third has a calling. Most of the rags to riches stories are

“from poverty to purpose” ones. They have a work ethic and profound desire to be helpful.

Children should get to see how difficult a life of purpose is-all the frustrations and obstacles-

but also how gratifying, ultimately it can be.

Hope- Grit depends on a different kind of hope. It rests on the expectation that our own efforts

can improve the future. They resolve to make tomorrow better. When you keep searching for

ways to change your situation for the better, you stand a chance of finding them. When youstop
searching, assuming they can’t be found, you guarantee that they won’t. Grittier people interpret failure
as a cue to try harder.

James Baldwin says that when you keep searching for ways to change your situation for the better,

you stand a chance of finding them. He gives an illustration where children do not understand what
their elders say but they have never failed to imitate them. Parents are also key factors in improving

our grit. They teach us not to be quitters and instead strive to achieve what we want. By working

extra hard and pushing yourself beyond your limits you get to the next level. In Harvard it admits 50

% students on outstanding academic credentials, and remaining 50 % based on their commitment to

pursue something they love and believe in. Grit is enhanced by also ensuring one participates in

extracurricular activities.

Culture is defined as the ideas, customs and social behavior of particular people or society. The

bottom line on culture and grit is: If you want to be grittier, find a grit culture and join it. If you are a

leader, and you want the people in your organization to be grittier, create a gritty culture. Do not let

temporary setbacks become permanent excuses. Use mistakes and problems as opportunities to get

reasons not to quit. In order to succeed in life, join people who are more willing to achieve the best.

Pete Carol says that success is never final; failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.

In conclusion this book has been about the power of grit to help you achieve your potential. The

author gives two ways one can grow their grit: On your own, you can grow your grit “from the inside
out”: You can cultivate your interests. You can develop a habit of daily challenge-exceeding-skill practice.
You can connect your work to a purpose beyond yourself. And you can learn to hope when all seems
lost. As you can see, she has given her opinion using the four psychological assets previously mentioned.
You can also grow your grit “from the outside in.” Parents, coaches, teachers, bosses, mentors, friends—
developing your personal grit depends critically on other people.

To be gritty is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. To be gritty is to hold fast to an

interesting and purposeful goal. To be gritty is to invest, day after week after year, in challenging

practice. To be gritty is to fall down seven times, and rise eight. Success is working towards

excellence without stopping and with every ounce of your being this is what we call grit.